It is high time to get serious. The city sewers (in any city, but I’m writing about NYC specifically here) are in crisis and your arteries are in crisis. It’s all part of the same crisis: the use of oil in cooking. OK, there are a few more details re the fatbergs as we’ll see, but it is kind of a hilarious coincidence that we are doing the same damage to our arteries as to the city sewers: gumming up the works with oil that nobody needs – it is damaging your health. It virtually paralyzes your arteries for 4-6 hours after every meal and cumulatively it does tremendous damage to your endothelium. You are literally saving up for cardiovascular disease if you have oil in your diet.
#WFPB Nutrition says NO OIL!
Oil is a processed food and we don’t need it. In fact, it does tremendous damage to our arteries, as Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn in particular has argued. From the basic standpoint of what Whole Foods, Plant-Based really means, it is very simple. Oil is a processed food, not a whole food, and it throws off our nutrition. All the oil you need comes naturally in certain fruits and plants, and even then you have to watch out that you don’t get too much – like coconut oil, which is really bad news. In general, I always love the comment by Dr. Neal Barnard, that whether it’s motor oil or extra-virgin olive oil, it’s all 80% fat and you do not need it!
And Now about Them Fatbergs
It is really hilarious to think that we are creating a similar crisis in our sewers as we are in our own arteries. Here are some articles that will give you the picture of the problem.
- Gothamist March 5th, 2019: What Not To Flush: Guns, Rats, Wipes And The Origins Of NYC’s Fatberg Crisis
- Gothamist Informational presentation: What are you doing about NYC’s Growing Fatberg Threat?
Conclusion
So, there you have it, the problem is the same on a micro scale and on a macro scale. The amazing thing is that once people get it, the first thing many notice is that food tastes better without oil. The owner of Neerob Restaurant, Khokon, commented right away that his spinach tasted so much better without oil! Right now, they have a few oil-free veggie dishes on the menu. That will grow. The Restaurant campaign of Plant Pure Communities is expanding nation-wide.
With the increasing adoption of the Whole Foods, Plant-Based diet, and cooking without oil, we are helping our own arteries and the city’s infrastructure as well. This is one more place where the #WFPB lifestyle is good for the body and for the environment at the same time.